Chapter 61: No Such Person

The wind at night was colder than in the early morning, carrying a bone-chilling chill that seeped into her body from all directions, as if it were a sieve letting the wind pour in.

After leaving the hospital, After leaving the hospital, Lu Nan hailed a car on her phone to North River Hospital in B City. A City was over three hundred kilometers from North River Hospital in B City, which meant more than three hours by car.

She had originally planned to take a plane, which would be faster, but there were only flights the next day, and the high-speed rail had long since stopped running. That simply wouldn’t do.

She worried that if there were other passengers in the car, the driver might pick up people along different routes, delaying her arrival at North River Hospital. So, she chose to book a car for herself alone.

There were few pedestrians on the streets, with mottled tree shadows under the moonlight spilling onto the cement ground. When the wind blew, the tree shadows swayed along with it.

Lu Nan stood on the street for a long time before her ride-share arrived. She yanked open the car door and, the moment she sat down, shoved a handful of preserved plums into her mouth, then rolled down the window She rolled down the window and took deep breaths, as if that would make her feel better.

The driver took one look and said, “Little miss, carsick? I’ll open all the windows around you to let some air in.”

“Thank you, Uncle Driver.” Lu Nan thanked him, then asked, “How long will it take? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

The driver thumped his chest confidently. “Don’t worry, we’ll get there before one-thirty for sure.”

One-thirty—that was two and a half hours, half an hour earlier than expected.

Good, Lu Nan thought with a quiet sigh of relief. If there hadn’t been a transfer, she might still make it. A transfer could only mean the condition was serious. Being hit by a car like that, with all that blood—it didn’t look good. Her thoughts spiraled further and further.

“Master, have you ever hit anyone?”

The driver’s hands trembled slightly on the steering wheel as he stared at her in shock. What was this girl on about? Doubting his driving skills?

“No, what did you say? I’m steady as they come.”

Hearing the shock in his voice, Lu Nan realized her words had come out wrong.

“Sorry, I meant, if—if someone gets hit by a car hard enough to bend a utility pole, is there any chance of surviving that?”

“That’s hard to say. If the pole’s bent, who knows how much force that was. Did you see that news? A few days ago at the intersection, there were several accidents. Instant deaths, brains splattered everywhere. Terrifying just hearing about it.”

“Instant death?” Lu Nan’s vision blurred. Of course she knew how fragile the human body was.

If it had been instant death, there’d be no need to rush to the hospital. Since they’d taken her there and then transferred her, it should mean she could still be saved—though it also meant the situation was critical.

She suddenly realized she didn’t even have Song Wenwei’s family’s phone numbers. She didn’t even know the aunt who’d gone out with her that day. How was she supposed to find them, to ask?

Their connection had snapped just like that.

Silence fell inside the car. The driver said nothing more; he could tell something serious had happened for her to rush to the hospital like this and ask such questions.

The car sped along the highway, the wind whistling past.

Lu Nan watched the scenery flash by, and gradually, her eyes began to close. Her dreams tumbled chaotically.

A blurry figure covered in blood lay on a bed, the white sheets stained red. Those almond eyes that always held a smile were half-open, filled with heart-wrenching pain…

“Miss, we’re here.”

Lu Nan jolted awake from the dream, her heart still racing. She let out a shaky breath of relief. Just a dream—thank goodness it was only a dream. She tried to recall the details, but they slipped away.

B City’s wind gave Lu Nan a headache. The hospital at night was still packed, white lights illuminating the hurried shadows of people coming and going.

Green signs pointed the way, and Lu Nan hurried along until she reached the emergency department.

“No, we haven’t received any transfer patients here.”

The nurse glanced up casually after speaking and saw a face that had gone deathly pale in an instant. Panicking, she reached out to the girl, patting her shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. How did you even get here? Tell me clearly—I might be able to help.”

Lu Nan looked at her like a lifeline in a drifting sea. Her voice choked as she said, “At eight-thirty, People’s Hospital in A City said she was transferred here, so I came…”

She barely dared to speak loudly, keeping her voice down. She was afraid she’d burst into tears and burden the nurse.

“You mean transferred to North River? Don’t panic, sit down first…” The nurse softened her voice and handed over a pack of tissues. “There’s a North River Hospital in F City too. They just renamed it recently—you might only find us online.”

Lu Nan didn’t remember leaving the hospital. In a daze, she found herself at the entrance. She feared the next lead would be just as fruitless. The tropes from TV dramas were happening to her for real.

Dating, an accident, and now she couldn’t even find her. Lu Nan let out a bitter laugh. What a clichéd, melodramatic plot.

Once her emotions stabilized, Lu Nan quickly booked a hotel room. She’d been running around until three in the morning, but she felt no sleepiness at all. Her mind replayed the hospitalization over and over.

She pulled out her phone and searched. The browser showed two North River Hospitals: one in B City, one in F City.

Just as the nurse had said—there were two.

Logically, B City’s medical facilities were better. F City’s weren’t bad either, but why go farther? Did B City lack some equipment that F City had?

Countless questions took root in Lu Nan’s heart. She couldn’t figure it out.

The flight to F City was at four-forty, with two hours to go. Lu Nan lay on the soft hotel bed, staring blankly at the white ceiling.

Staring too long made her eyes ache, and tears crept into them unbidden.

“Guess it’s true what they say about home’s cement walls—they don’t hurt your eyes.” Lu Nan wiped away her tears, but the pristine white wall made her eyes ache again. Slowly, she closed them.

Two hours weren’t long. Lu Nan dozed for twenty minutes before she couldn’t sleep anymore.

At four, she got up and grabbed some food from the only street stall open, which made her stomach feel a bit better. After eating, she checked out and hurried to the airport to wait for her flight. It was her first time flying. She hadn’t taken a plane yesterday due to time constraints, but now she was taking one.

She was still wearing the outfit she’d bought specially for yesterday’s date. The shop owner had praised how cool and dashing she looked, but unfortunately, Song Wenwei hadn’t gotten to see her triumphant style.

The airport’s floor-to-ceiling windows showed dense black clouds nearby. It wasn’t dawn yet, but the lights flickered outside.

A brilliant river stretched before her, but Lu Nan had no heart to admire it. She closed her eyes tightly. Just two and a half hours—two and a half hours, and she’d see Song Wenwei. That thought brought her some comfort.